One of my favorite Bible studies is “Who am I apart from God? Who am I in Christ?”

Understanding and applying these questions often leads to some in my classes changing from the first group to the second. We are taught from the time we are children that we are responsible for our actions. Our actions as part of the first group, is total separation from God.

One of my teachers in college had a saying that has stuck with me over the years. It went something like, “Some people are so heavenly-minded that they are no earthly good.” She was referring to some good church leaders and pastors. Her face still sticks with me. She was an excellent Christian education and apologetics teacher. Several things this older lady taught have stayed with me these 50-plus years. She told it like it was.

It would be interesting to make two recordings of what people say about a man who had a bad reputation. The one recording would be while he was alive and active. The other would be after he died. There are people who have had very little good said about them while they are alive. Few have had much bad said about them after they die physically. This is especially true at the visitation and funeral.

Most of us think positively when we hear that someone is a person of faith. I certainly do. It would be interesting to ask a high school or college student to do a survey on the subject. They could take a random sample of a predetermined number of fellow students. A newspaper or TV station could do the same. There can be no doubt that the number of kinds and variations of answers would be great.

It is fun to reminisce about special days. We have coffee hour from about 10 to 11 a.m. on Wednesdays in our senior building. The women sit around a couple of tables and the men sit around a few more tables. Sometimes the conversations involve years gone by. Directly or indirectly we all learn something about each other’s past.

Occasionally I take a walk in the Maplewood Mall on a Saturday afternoon, which is not my usual time for taking a walk. My favorite time to walk or run is in the morning. Taking a walk the Saturday before or after school is finished reveals some real changes.

Living in this part of the country and the earth is kind of special. The variety of winter, spring, summer and fall gives us a variety of seasons to enjoy. Each of us has reasons to enjoy some more than others. These reasons can certainly change, as we grow older.

We live one day at a time. Every day as we read the daily paper, we likely read some new news. One day last week several articles on the front page of the newspaper caught my attention. Some were a repeat of past days; others were new to me. All or at least much of life is that way. We certainly do not know what April will bring. Everyday is like that.